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Female fans normally know more facts about what’s going on than men do anyway. I’d say they’re a more intelligent fan on top of that. They normally know more about what we’ve done than we know about what we’ve done. --- Tony Stewart

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There are female fans who take apart engines and will take you apart if you have a problem with that; who are drawn to the danger and mystery of the sport; who watch races on TV to witness pure passion and unscripted emotion; who love the camaraderie of these family-friendly festivals; who feel the nervous anxiety of the lip-biting wives atop the pit boxes. --- Andrew Giangola “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”

In Memory

In memory of our friend and colleague Amy Branch

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

This weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and
Xfinity Series visit New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, for the Overton’s
301. Learn more about this New England track, known as the “Magic Mile,” in
this week’s Fast Facts.

Ground was broken for the former New Hampshire International
Speedway on Aug. 13, 1989 on the site of what was the Bryar Motorsports Park
road course. The Bahre family redeveloped it into a multi-purpose facility,
adding a 1.058-mile oval to the 1.6-mile road course. In addition to hosting
NASCAR events, the facility hosts the Loudon Classic motorcycle race – the longest-running
motorcycle race in North America.

NASCAR’s Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) made its debut at
the track in July 1990. In July 1993, the Cup Series made its debut at the track,
with Rusty Wallace heading to victory lane. That race would be Davey Allison’s
last race, as he was severely injured the next day in a helicopter crash at
Talladega Superspeedway; Allison would later die from his injuries.

From 1992-1998, the track hosted open wheel racing – CART
from 1992-1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1996-1998. The IndyCar Series
attempted to make a comeback to New Hampshire in 2011, but poor attendance and
controversial decisions by race officials left it off of the 2012 schedule.

Following the 1996 season, owner Bob Bahre and Speedway Motorsports
Inc. CEO Bruton Smith purchased North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina and
moved one of its Cup Series dates to New Hampshire.

The 2000 season at the track was shrouded in tragedy, as two
up-and-coming drivers lost their lives in separate practice accidents. In May,
fourth-generation driver Adam Petty lost his life after his throttle stuck
exiting Turn 2 while practicing for the Busch Series event; less than two
months later, Kenny Irwin Jr. died of similar complications while practicing
for the upcoming Cup Series race. The accidents led track owners to run
restrictor plates for the Cup Series race in September 2000, which Jeff Burton
led wire-to-wire.

Prior to the 2008 season, Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchase
the track from the Bahre family, renaming it New Hampshire Motor Speedway to
coincide with other SMI interests.

In addition to the Cup Series, NHMS hosts NASCAR’s Xfinity
Series, Camping World Truck Series, K&N Pro Series East and the Whelen
Modified Tour.

Beginning with the 2018 season, the fall “playoff” race originally
hosted by NHMS, along with its accompanying Truck Series race, will be moved to
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with NHMS retaining only its July race with the Cup
Series and Xfinity Series.